Related Stories

Growing a home from living trees instead of building a home from felled timber is the goal of an architect from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr Mitchell Joachim, part of the MIT Media Lab's Smart Cities Group, along with ecological engineer Dr Lara Greden and architect Javier Arbona, propose a home that is actually an ecosystem.

The Fab Tree Hab goes beyond sustainable housing and so-called green design, building with materials that have a low impact on the environment and human health.

"Not only does it do zero damage, but it will hopefully clean the air," says Joachim.

The habitat is based on an ancient gardening method known as pleaching, which weaves together tree branches to form living archways, lattices or screens.

In Joachim's vision, the exterior of the living house is shaped over the course of several decades into a protective crisscross of vines, interspersed with soil pockets and growing plants.

A clay and straw composite fills in the gaps to insulate against the cold and heat and keep out moisture.

He proposes constructing windows manufactured from soy-based plastics that would flex with the home as it grows.

Gathering water

Water would be gathered in a roof-top trough and circulate by gravity through the house, where it would be used by the inhabitants, filtered through a garden, and purified in a pond containing bacteria, fish, and plants that consume organic waste. A composting system would treat human refuse.

Water would also serve to hydrate the plants and the tree itself, which would give off water vapour naturally during transpiration and cool the shelter.

The Fab Tree Hab would also rely on the Sun for heat. Large, south-facing windows would absorb warmth in the northern hemisphere's winter, while windows located on the shady side at ground floor would draw in cool breezes during hot months.

Grow your own furniture

"The living house would be the Holy Grail of this art form," says Richard Reames, an Orgeon-based arborsculptor and author of the book How to Grow a Chair.

Reames uses grafting and pleaching techniques to grow living chairs, benches and tables.

Joachim's dream is to plan an entire community based on the living house design, but before that can happen, he will need to conduct a year or two's worth of sociology and feasibility studies.

In the meantime, he is designing a house in California that will be constructed from 50% recycled and reconstituted materials and 50% living elements.

The project is called MatScape and Joachim sees it as an experimental step toward the ultimate living house.